A Child’s View of Pioneering

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From a smiling Brigham Young reading the Book of Mormon, to a pioneer couple standing in front of their home, to new Church members preparing to enter the São Paulo Temple, the term pioneering evoked a variety of images in the minds of young Latter-day Saint artists.

The Museum of Church History and Art issued a call for children to submit artwork on the theme of “150 Years of Pioneering” as part of the Fourth International Art Competition. Nearly 2,000 youth from 43 states and 29 countries responded. Included here is a small selection of their artwork.

1. Pioneers Crossing the River, by Hide Konno of Handa, Aichi, Japan. “These pioneers are crossing in icy, cold water. One of them has a baby in a blanket.”

2. Pioneers of Cottonwood Creek, by Danielle Crane, age 8, of Sandy, Utah. New settlers stand in front of their home, complete with a flourishing garden.

3. Christina Jeppson Sailing for Salt Lake City, by Carly Higginson, age 11, of Las Vegas, Nevada. “In 1863, at age 14, my great-great-great-grandmother left Sweden to go to a country she wasn’t familiar with, and she didn’t speak the language. She did this because she believed in the Church.”

4. Blazing the Trail, by Amanda Pribyl, age 10, of Glendale, Arizona. “Brigham Young stands with William Clayton and a widowed mother and her three children. The pioneers were leaders, and they blazed the trail for other people.”

5. Baptizing in an African River, by Rohan V. Adams, age 7, of Umhlanga Rocks, South Africa. A new member comes into the Church.

6. Pioneer in 1847 and Me in 1996, by Rebecca Cline, age 11, of Raleigh, North Carolina. “While Father worked, the rest of the family with friends went on a six-week Church history trek through 22 states. I learned endurance, faith, and sacrifice, and I felt a love for the gospel.”

7. Pioneers of My Family, by Marilia Kim de Oliveira Nafalski, age 9, of São Paulo, Brazil. “One day my mother heard some young men clapping their hands at the gate of our home. It was two missionaries. Later they gave the lessons to us, and our family was converted. And now we are being prepared to go to the temple.”